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compared to those in the private sector. and yet you guys go ahead with this eel that ryan was talking this will be held harmless because of sequester cut in 2014. why not -- >> i think everything is on the table in these conversations, as it should be. thanks. >> [indiscernible] him him him >> john boehner earlier today.

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nancy pelosi response to squeaker boehner's remarks about house republicans and women candidates. she is joined here by other democrats at this 40 minute briefing. >> good afternoon. how are you all? thank you for coming. shelling --to start telling grandchildren stories. he says great-grandchildren. we all think our grandchildren are great. to believe. good afternoon, everyone. yesterday, as you know, president obama made a call to act regarding income inequality in our nation, increasing the minimum wage, equal pay for women, and in the workplace, earl -- early childhood

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education and pre-k have been part of his proposal all along. i was excited to hear what he said echoed. when women succeed, america succeeds, and this is our agenda. income inequality, as he pointed eroding thely middle class, which is the backbone of our economy. earlier, a representative from kentucky talked about how it is the right thing to do to improve the health of thousands of his citizens over the next decade. he also talked about it from an economic and fiscal standpoint.

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50 million dollars will be injected into kentucky's economy. it will bring $800 million to the state treasury, create 17,000 jobs and support their glad toso we were very hear what he had to say at the press event and afterward. in few areas has a lot been of greater impact than in the lives americans with chronic conditions. if you had insurance that you liked before, whatever it was, it is going to be better now because of no pre-existing conditions being a barrier to your access to insurance. also removing lifetime or even on the funding

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you can receive for care. thanks to affordable health care act in relationship to pre- existing conditions, up to 17 million children with pre- existing conditions have already been able to gain affordable coverage. starting january 1, up to 129 million americans, including children, including americans with cancer, asthma, diabetes and other conditions, will no longer be denied or charged higher premiums based on their history. today is the day we are all focused on pre-existing conditions. i am happy to say that because of the affordable health care act, being a woman is no longer a pre-existing medical condition. the number of stories i hear when talking to americans, who every day remind us that we enact this law in the first place not only to offer good health insurance for america, but to -- it is about not only

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health care, it is about the good health of all americans. we have had a busy day so far. that is why we are coming in now. democrats held a hearing on the impending expiration of a lifeline that many americans depend on, unemployment insurance. the ranking member of the ways and means committee has been championing this issue every day for a very long time. we had witnesses that spoke passionately to the shared stories of the 1.3 million americans who will be cutoff from federal unemployment compensation right in the middle of the holidays. of thousands of americans who rely on these benefits will lose them. up to 2 million children can be impacted by the loss of these benefits. 1.9 million more americans will lose their benefits in the first

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half of next year. it is essential that we extend benefits. unemployment benefits remain one of the best ways to grow the economy in a very immediate way. it immediately injects demand into our markets and increases employment. for every dollar spent on unemployment benefits, the economy grows by, according to one estimate, one dollar 50 two cents. by others, two dollars. so somewhere in that range. on much more than is spent it. failing to extend the benefits will cost us 200,000 jobs over next year according to the congressional budget office. we have a responsibility to people who have played by the rules and loss -- lost their jobs through no fault of their own and need these benefits in

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order to survive. we must extend this insurance before the end of the year, and we must extend it for at least a year, and i would like to see forward before this year ends. hopefully it could be part of the budget, but it doesn't have to be. it could be its own vehicle as it goes forward. but it is something we must consider. the clock is ticking. what the president did yesterday, what we did later in the day, and here we are, the clock is ticking. there is still much work to be out onnd time is running a budget agreement. while we understand that in negotiations are continuing, we also understand that there is no final deal. democrats have extended the hand of friendship over and over attempt to fix the

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budget in a way that is fair to the middle class. hopefully we can pass both houses in a bipartisan way. we are very ably led in our discussion from our side by our ranking member chris van hollen james clyburn, our assistant leader, and by the ranking member on the appropriations committee. i wish now to -- i am very pleased to be joined by our house democratic leadership as we hear ranking member chris van uslen come forward and give a word on what he sees going forward. >> thank you, leader pelosi. it is great to be here with my colleagues and my fellow contrary, ms. lowen.

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.here is no budget agreement there's been a lot written, but there is no budget agreement yet. we believe these negotiations have already dragged on way too long. we share the view of the republican chairman of the appropriations committee who wrote to all the conferences some time ago saying we should right aftere thanksgiving so the appropriators could get to work. that is the senate of the -- that is the chairman of the senate appropriations committee. we also believe that as this ,rocess has dragged on important priorities are at risk of being left behind. we have is why presented our priorities. these are priorities we have presented as part of the negotiations going forward, and i want to quickly outline what we said from the beginning should be part of this discussion. number one, we said from the

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beginning, we have to focus on jobs. we have to get the economy moving faster. we have made progress, but we also know we did do a lot better. my goodness, we lost 24 billion dollars in economic activity because of the government shutdown in october. that is an unnecessary, self- inflicted wound. instead of doing bad things to the economy, we should be doing things to help move the economy forward. we have a proposal to invest more in our national infrastructure. as do people around the country, that we have huge unmet needs in that sector. it is a win-win to get jobs moving on that front. we pay for that infrastructure by saying that spent more of the moneys that were going to be spent on nationbuilding overseas to help invest in our economy right here at home. we have built lots of roads and

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lots of facilities in places like afghanistan. but sale at -- we are saying let's take some of those savings and invest them at home. invest in theo jobs of the future through early education. we believe we have to replace the sequester, no doubt about it. we understand that we may not be able to replace the whole thing at once, that we need to replace it, and we need to replace it in a balanced way, a way that calls for shared responsibility, which is why we have said from the beginning that in addition to making targeted cuts, we should also look at closing special interest tax breaks to make sure that everybody is participating in trying to replace the sequester. we all know that the sequester is hurting the economy. the congressional budget office says it will result in 800,000 fewer jobs by this time next year, so we have to fix it, and we have to fix it in a balanced way. you have seen the reports and a lot of you have written about

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this. the proposals republicans have put forward as part of this income,go after middle middle-class taxpayers, and leave the highfliers alone. do they propose to do, for example? federalpose to go after peoplees, hard-working who have already taken it on the chin in terms of furloughs, the government shutdown and the sequester. want to, apparently, close a single loophole for private corporate jets, but they want to say to the traveling public, you should pay a higher airline passenger fee. we are not saying you cannot consider user fees. we find it odd that they would say they want to use airline passenger fees but not close

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pirate -- private corporate jet loopholes. at the same time they have said, and you have read this in the newspapers, and the speaker said this himself, he did not want to include savings from the farm bill as part of deficit reduction or sequester replacement even though they called for that in their budget. what they are saying is that do not want to take away some of those big agriculture subsidies as part of this effort. they would rather pick on middle income taxpayers. we believe when you are replacing a sequester, you need to do it in a way that calls for shared responsibility. finally, as the leader said, wo ay's after christmas -- days after christmas unemployment compensation for millions of americans runs out. one woman testified that she

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lost her job because of the sequester. she worked in a biotech company and because of the cutbacks in places like nih, she lost her job. she has been looking hard for a job and cannot find it. she has a stack of letters two feet high in terms of her job applications. these are hard-working people who have been working hard, lost their jobs, are still looking every day, and the final point i want to make about that is it is not only the right thing to do to help those families, but it is the right thing to do to help our community and our economy, because the congressional budget office tells us that i'm making sure that we provide unemployment compensation, we 200,000p create another jobs by this time next year. so a million people are going to lose her unemployment compensation, but if we replace the sequester and have unemployment compensation, we could have a million more jobs

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by this time next year than we would other words. that is not my figure. that is the congressional budget office figure. so. we believe these priorities have to be addressed by the end of this year. it is speaker said, if not within the four corners of the budget agreement, we have to see a clear path to getting these other things done. the speaker of the house stood right where you are standing and acknowledged that republicans have to be more sensitive to women. what do you make of that comment? >> well, let me just say, it is a little late, but nonetheless, we are very proud of our own initiative where women succeed, america succeeds. rosa delauro, who is sort of the idea, didof this

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some research about what women meant to the workplace. minimumy, raise the wage, very important. value the work of women. paid leave, very important for women. men as well, but women being the major caregivers, and then of course the issue of child care, which is something that we have a crusade on. i think he was saying that in response to the fact that they were teaching -- didn't they have a class for their members to say how you should run really women, which is strange, especially if you are a woman. but you know what? have been running against women in ways we think are inappropriate. it will be interesting to see what they have in their curriculum for how to run against women.

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do you also train your candidates on how to run against women? >> i am so excited that there is our womentention on candidates. i am not going to take too long on this because i want to have hoyer.r member i have gone all over the country talking about this and i guarantee it is true. it is not how we talk about women in one race or another, it is how we give more opportunities to women, and there are two ways. of money inthe role politics and two, increase the level of civility. if you do that, you will elect more women to public office and public service, and that is a very whole something for our country. when i encourage women to run, they say how can you even take

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the abuse you take in terms of the negative things that people ?ay i say they do not matter to me. if we were not effective they would not be attacking me. however, people with options do not want to subject themselves to the maliciousness that some people have out there. we know that if we can make the debate more civil and reduce the role of money, many more women would enter the arena, and that increase thet to number of women. we are very proud of our fact -- of the fact that in our caucus, the house democratic caucus, we have women, minorities and members of the lgbt community. that is a beautiful mix. i am going to ask mr. hoyer to talk about what he is here to talk about today. i am happy to talk about women all day. >> me to. , wet of all, let me say

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don't know what the budget parameters and any agreement are going to be. we have heard rumors. you have written about them. we don't know their substance. what we do know, however, is that we are for a balanced , of theng of the budget economic issues that confront our country, and of putting our country on a fiscally sustainable path. i am, as you know, for a big deal in which all of the options are put on the table, which is what president obama did. president obama did not do discussed as is being and i understand it now, being urged by mr. ryan. the reason he did not discuss smallbore is because he wanted to give confidence to the economy. he wanted to get off this government by crisis. he wanted to get to a sustainable path as we move

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forward. i am very hopeful that before the budget conference reports, that they reach such an agreement. agreement, but a big agreement, which deals with the issues that chris is talking about, investing in our economy, investing in our infrastructure, education, growing our economy, making sure that unemployment insurance does not expire. i agree with leader pelosi. does not necessarily have to be within the budget agreement itself, but it does have to be part of addressing the economic challenges that confront our country and our people. i could say more, but i have to leave because my staff is saying i am very late to another event. but i thank speaker pelosi. [indiscernible] [laughter] not know you said you do know what the agreement is, but you are the parameters that

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go to members and start to with this. what has to be in their? they talk about maybe doing a cr . you said you're not going to do a heinz 57. but there has not been any communication at all. >> i tried to get mr. cantor to be more specific today on the floor. if you are watching, that did not happen. maybe it is because he does not know. he may not know what the specifics are. but you are correct. one of our principal objectives is eliminating the sequester. why? because in a bipartisan fashion, not only is the sequester unworkable and unrealistic, 12 republican chairman of the appropriations subcommittee said it was unworkable and unrealistic. one of the first objectives needs to be to get rid of the sequester. the sequester was never intended

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to go into effect. everybody believed that the supercommittee, so-called, would come up with a big, balanced deal. unfortunately, but did not happen. and they presume that over the failure,onths, after that we would come up with an alternate to sequester. we did not. today on the floor in our theoquy, he said it is not way to do government spending. he is absolutely right. i've been saying that. mr. cantor has been saying that. the ranking member on the committee knows, probably more than the rest of us, that is not the way to do it. leader pelosi has been saying the same thing. we think that is an issue that needs to be dealt with. >> [indiscernible] >> on federal workers? >> we saw the e-mail. but if it comes down to it,

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taking a deal where perhaps federal pension contributions have to go up may be even more than the sequester is rolled back, is that something you and the democrats could sell? >> we don't think that is good policy. mr. van hollen talked about it in terms of working people. the only working people that have paid a price so far in trying to bring down the deficit have been federal workers, and they have paid $114 billion to date over the last four years. and that does not include the furloughs. i am trying to get that figure. i don't know how many millions billions more they have paid. i think it is inappropriate, absent a big deal in which you are dealing with all segments of savings and of investments, , it iss a big deal inappropriate to further look to the pockets of federal employees

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as this point in time. it is not necessary. mr. van hollen points that out. he has alternatives which don't deal with that at all. save another 10 or $15 billion in the farm bill. they also want to shift some of that money to pay wealthy farmers insurance. thehould look to reducing pain to federal workers because we have already dipped deeply into their pockets and reduce not only their present benefits and pay but also their longer- term benefits and pay. thank you. leader, the speaker said this morning that if the a plan, presumably how much, how long, how to pay for it, [indiscernible]

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>> i was very pleased to see that the speaker left the door open on unemployment insurance because it is so important. i don't know what the white house's plans are to send something over, but i do know that they have asked congress to act upon it, and we were just talking about a one-year extension, which is important. let's bring up a one-year extension. subscribed to the fact that this has been paid for by people paying unemployment insurance, so we don't need to pay for it twice. >> i agree with that. if you look at the plan we just , we do pay for unemployment compensation. the congressional budget office says it will generate the savings necessary to offset the cost.

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what they say is that instead of saying you cannot have anybody at the irs go collect taxes from people who already owe them -- these are deadbeat tax. -- deadbeat taxpayers who, because they are not paying taxes, raise the cost for everybody else. if you just track down deadbeat taxpayers, people hiding their money overseas, you could actually cover the cost. so, our plan pays for one year of unemployment compensation. downg the government set to shutdown, this economy lost unnecessary,or an shameful action. the cost of providing compensation for the next year, 24 billion

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dollars. we do pay for it. theay for it by making sure deadbeats and people trying to hide their money pay their share of taxes. >> you seem to have an array of questions. turn to ourto ranking member on the appropriations committee for her .iew >> thank you, madam leader. i will just mention a few things. number one, it is very clear from chairman rogers and all of the 12 cardinals, chairs of the , theyriations committee have issued a statement. they have discussed the process more than once. they have made it clear they don't want to continue -- want a continuing resolution. they want to have a budget that is workable.

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i mention this because my colleague talked about our priorities. and if you recall, we could not even get the labor health human tovices education bill committee. nevermind going to the floor. the transportation hud bill, which as my colleagues priorities,n our creates jobs, investment in transportation that is so absolutely essential in this country, that would come to the floor. about the national institutes of health. we talk about women, breast cancer, alzheimer's, autism. these are diseases that affect men and women. we could not even do that in the committee. chairman rogers and i were very -- worked very closely together. i guarantee that we could sit and put together a real bill. we are wasting time now. to me, this is what is so

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disturbing about the process. we are wasting time. let's get this process going and let's make sure we are making appropriate investments in our priorities. we should be creating jobs and putting people to work. i would like to go along with chris van hollen and talking about unemployment insurance. i see it all over the district. i have a very diverse district. people who are going to offices to look for jobs and they tell you their it is painful. when you go to the food bank and --t center -- west center westchester county in rockland county, there are triple the

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number of people going to get food for their families. so we need to get on with this. there couldquestion be bipartisan work done. so let's do it and remember the priorities, and remember that if we delay this, we are delaying for people and really impeding the growth of our economy. >> it sounds like you put forward this proposal and you know there are many aspects of this. this does not appear to be what the chairman are talking about. is the reality right now that the chances of a deal that would win support of house democrats like yourself is slimmer today than it was when the process started? >> i just say first of all the building infrastructure for america has always been a

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bipartisan priority. it has always been. fdr, if we wanted to resolve bipartisan had enthusiasm behind it both in congress and in the country. deficit and ridding ourselves of sequestration, as we want to get rid of sequestration. we were talking about early childhood education. i would not characterize the republicans is not supporting it. it is not that things have not had bipartisan support along the way. >> these are our priorities. the final outcome has to take into account and reflect many of the important issues we have outlined here. , as talk is unnecessarily dragged on, we

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believe a lot of these priorities are at risk of being left behind. as the leader just said with respect to unemployment compensation, it does not have to be in the same legislative bill as the budget agreement, but we want to see a commitment and away we are going to get that done by the end of this year. with respect to sequester replacement, the idea of shared responsibility is one that should be fundamental to everybody. we all want to replace the sequester because these are very deep cuts that are hurting and eating away important investments to the country, hurting jobs, but as we figure out deficit reduction, my goodness, why should we be going after working americans. why should we be going after middle income folks. why should we say that federal employees who are working with veterans in the hospital and taking it on the chin as a result of the government shut down, why should we be asking them to pay something when we

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are not asking the owners of reduce corporate jets to their subsidy or why, as mr. hoyer and i said earlier, some of these large agribusinesses, why shouldn't we take some of the huge subsidies we are now providing two major agribusinesses as a way of reducing the sequester instead of these other methods? and again, it is hard for us to understand why republicans would say it is a great night dia to raise cash great idea to raise fees on the traveling public -- would say it is a great idea to raise fees on the traveling public when they will not ask anything of the owners of private jets. it just shows that they are always going after the little guy and letting the big guy not contribute to this effort.

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ms. pelosi, you said earlier that an agreement was contingent on a deal to extend unemployment insurance. >> i did not say that. i did not see many of you there at the hearing this morning, but we had a full house anyway. perhaps you saw on tv. what i said was that i wanted to see the unemployment insurance, as we go forward with the budget, i would like to see unemployment insurance in that. but it could be separate from that as well. want an agreement to do ui and returns for -- >> it depends on what the budget agreement is. it does not justify some of the misplaced priorities we're hearing coming out of some conversations from republicans, but on its own, we believe it should be extended and people have left that door open. proposal.democratic

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we do. it is in the packet you have there. if they are waiting for the president to send something, then hopefully that will happen. but the clock is ticking. we have a couple of weeks before christmas and we need to get all of this done. i would like it in the budget. it is part of our budget proposal, but that is not what i said. i think i used the term sidebar initiative that would go along timing wise with it. they are telling me it is the last question because we have to go back to work. i know that is a strange notion around here, but a notion it is. it is not a hard idea. we are forever pushing to get were done. this is a stunning place he we at.at -- please we are if you listen to the priorities

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we're talking about and the priorities of republicans, you have to wonder, and as i said at the hearing of unemployment insurance this morning, talking about pope francis and what he said was the responsibility of elected officials, public .fficials, and business leaders our responsibility is to working people, whether it is housing and food or whatever it was. you have to wonder why it is so difficult to just pass an unemployment insurance instead engine -- insurance extension. i the republicans don't know or they don't care. care, soo assume they we just want to make sure they know. that is why we have the hearing so that they know when we talk about one point 3 million people, and that statistic is staggering, it is staggering every single person at a time, and some of the people there this morning were the personal manifestation of the work ethic

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in our country. it is very strong. people want to work hard. they want to play by the rules. they want to succeed, and they can, but the deck is stacked against them. our is what we're saying to colleagues. we want you to know what the nature of the problem is, what some possible suggestions are. and everything we have suggested, whether with the unemploymentill or are initiatives that republicans have suggested before. something we have put on their plate that they have said never will i go near that. we have extended the hand of friendship again and again to try to have a budget agreement that will have bipartisan support as we go forward. but the clock is ticking. to thisd not be pushed place. weeks of gone by since the gave 100% of the

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democratic vote to open up government. over 50% of republicans voted to government close into default on the full faith and credit. so, we have a disagreement about the role of government and that diminish the importance of public employees. it's all one piece. , this isat as it may not interparty bickering. this is a major policy disagreement. but we can and should be able to find common ground amid the suggestions that will grow the economy, get us out of sequestration, reduce the deficit, and take us forward, and give republicans a level of confidence that we can work together to get the job done. i thank you all for coming this afternoon. >> would you support will that

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addresses unemployment benefits? >> within itself, yes. item aser legislative congress wraps up its work for the year. passage of a farm bill. leaders of the house and senate agriculture committees expressed optimism yesterday as both sides have made concessions over sticking points including subsidies to farmers and cuts to the food stamps program. this morning, we spoke to a member of the conference committee about the latest on the farm bill negotiations. bill gets passed. >> i think they are pretty good. we have a lot of debate and

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discussion. i think we are closing in on getting a good farm bill. host: where will you come down on food stamps? the house republicans wanted $40 billion cut over 10 years. the senate, $4 billion. guest: first, let me say this. it was a lot of miscommunication about the food stamp program. none of the proposals, house or senate, would take food away from the people who actually need that assistance. i want to make that perfectly clear. what it does do, it makes sure that the people who are getting these benefits actually qualify for it.

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host: that brings up commodity groups. there was a story recently that there has been intense lobbying threatening the farm bill. the commodity groups, corn growers, sugar folks, soybean folks warring against each other. here is one quote -- this is not helping to get a farm bill. i did not have this in 2008. the attitude among the commodity groups seems to be lineup and shoot. guest: i think one of the things everyone is concerned about is making sure we get a farm bill that covers all of the various crops. that is what chairman lucas' goal has been through the whole process. we cannot have a farm bill for some farmers, we need a farm bill for all farmers. host: explain what is going on for people who do not know. guest: when they look at this new safety net, we are doing away with direct payments. that is a major reform. host: direct payments to farmers. guest: we are going to more of an insurance-like scenario. what people want to make sure of is that this new safety net is going to provide an actual safety net for them.

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people want the safety net to be based on income. some people wanted to be based on price of the commodity. what we have been working to do is to try to put something together that meets everybody's needs. i don't think everybody will be happy. generally, a good bill is when not everyone felt like they got their way, but the bottom line is that we did get a good safety net. host: this is a key sticking point for negotiations. explained to people who do not know farm language how much this means in taxpayer dollars. the commodity portion. guest: the commodity portion is about 20% of the farm bill. the food stamps is about 80% of the farm bill. this farm bill, over a 10-year period, is nearly $1 trillion. we are talking about in the neighborhood of $200 billion over 10 years. >> the house was in earlier today approving new rules over patent infringement lawsuits. the final day before they leave

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for christmas recess is tomorrow. watch live coverage for general forches, 2:00 p.m. legislative work. as always, live coverage of the house is here on c-span. >> betty ford, then betty bloomer, knew that she wanted to with dance. she did skits and lays. she went to vermont and studied at the school of dance. organizer. she carried this with her to vermont , back to grand rapids, often new york, where she studied with martha graham and work for a modeling agency. then back to grand rapids again. in this you would find a whole host of things that you would find in just about any organizer

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, brochures on dance costumes. one of her sketches of a costume for one of the dance routines .hat she wanted to put on here are choreography notes that she made for different dancer teens. routines. there is a whole wealth of material in here that talks about her love of dance and how deeply she was involved in it, especially in her early years. >> watch our program on first lady betty ford on our website, or see it saturday at 7:00 p.m. eastern. our series continues live monday as we look at first lady rosalyn carter. >> friday on c-span, "washington journal looks at the mission and role of the national institutes of health starting live at 7:30 a.m. eastern. 8:00, allergy and infectious

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ateases direct or, followed 8:30 a.m. by aaron green, director of the national genome human research institute. at 9:00, national cancer institute director harold varmus, and at 930 a.m., a look at the national institute of mental health with director thomas insole. all followed by your comments and calls. treasury secretary jacob lew earlier today gave an update on the implementation of frank. he spoke at an event hosted by the pew charitable trust. he also said the obama administration would press for globalmprehensive integration at an upcoming g-20 summit. >> good morning, everyone, and

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thank you for joining us for this very special event. a little housekeeping before i get started. his secretary luis finished remarks, if you could stay seated until he is through, we would appreciate it. he has a very tight schedule. we are very honored to be hosting jack lew. this event is a tribute to the pew charitable trust, which under the steady hand of our president has become a major and influential voice on many of the toughest issues confronting society today. throughout its 65 year history, pew has remained faith 02 the -- faithfulciples to the guiding principles of its founder. be it health care, the environment, economic mobility or democratic processes, pew has spoken truth to power to improve the lives of millions of people throughout the world. and of course, almost two years cfa pew, along with the

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institute founded a nonpartisan group of policy experts and former regulators which has sought to give voice to the people's interest in a safe, stable financial system. so, i am particularly pleased that secretary jack lew will be speaking this morning on the importance of completing the financial reform agenda. jack lew came to his job as a widely respected expert on budgetary policy. he has spent the vast majority of his career in government and has called government services highest calling. his expertise and knowledge have debt limitluable in negotiations. he has also brought a fresh perspective and vicar to the hise of financial reform in role as chairman of the financial oversight council. he has spoken eloquently of the need for regulators to finish the important tasks the dodd frank law has laid before them.

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he has warned of widespread public cynicism and disillusionment if regulators cannot deal with what has been called too big to fail. hasecognized that his -- he rightly argued that regulators should be time -- given time and adequate training to implement dodd frank. has supported tougher bank capital requirements and money market reform, to issues dear to my heart, and more portly, he of tackled unafraid the job coaxing five different regulatory agencies to finish their long overdue work on the volcker rule. i think his mother should have given him the middle name of job instead of joseph because he has demonstrated the difficulty of guiding the volcker rule to completion. on december 10, regulators will issue the final rule. secretary jack lew, i commend you for your commitment and resolve to protect the public

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from ever again facing a financial system run amok. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming secretary jack lew. [applause] >> thank you very much for that. and for all the work you do to advance the cause of financial reform. i would like to thank you for hosting me, and also for the work you do every day in so many important public policy issues. i would like to take a few minutes discussing how far we have come in repairing the weaknesses that shook our financial system to the core just a few years ago, and what we need to do to remain vigilant to make sure our financial system is safe in the future. five years ago the united dates economy was reeling from a devastating financial crisis that helped trigger the worst recession since the great depression. in late 2000 eight, our

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businesses were shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month. our economy was shrinking. credit was frozen. our auto industry was sliding toward the abyss, and millions of americans were losing their homes and their life savings. americaners worse, taxpayers were forced to provide extraordinary assistant -- assistance to financial institutions, many of which had taken risks that contributed to the crisis. the president faced an economy teetering on the edge. in response, he quickly moved to put out fires and get people back to work. he was also determined to make sure a financial crisis like this never happen again. this ever produced the most comprehensive overhaul of our financial system since the great depression, bringing our financial system into the 21st- century, and creating tools to address the complex and ever- instead ofrket

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markets and institutions. to these reforms created the strongest new financial safeguards for consumers and investors in nearly a century. as a matter of law, they state clearly that no institution can be too big to fail. five years later, our economy has steadily grown. our businesses has created jobs. our housing market is recovering. our financial system is stronger and once again an engine for economic growth. a lot of progress has been made, and one of the main drivers has been the extensive work of agencies and regulators to repair a badly damaged financial system. as regulators complete the remaining elements of wall street reform, there are four things we need to keep in mind. first, the rules of the road must be effective and designed to address modern financial markets. second, we must make sure that regulators have the resources necessary to get the job done, and that they are held accountable. third, other countries need comparably strong standards and

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mechanisms to address risks. finally, we must remain vigilant to new threats and constantly monitor the way we change and evolve to reduce risks from traditional banking and the shadow banking system. while the process of putting these reforms in place has taken longer than we hoped, much as been done, and much is being completed, and we are committed to finishing the job. but as i have said before, this is not about writing a set of rules and then walking off the field. this will require ongoing attention. ultimately, the willre of our success depend on whether we strike the strongalance, promoting credit creation in lending and protecting our economy and the american taxpayer from excessive risk taking.

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with the completion of the volcker rule, stronger authority and stronger capital and liquidity requirements, the tools are in place to make our system safer and to hold financial institutions responsible for bearing their own risk. regulators have worked hard to find the right balance that protects our economy and taxpayers while also leaving room for well functioning andets that fuel growth help protect private sector jobs. dodd frank addresses the root causes of the financial crisis and meets the challenge of today's financial markets, but consumerum on protection, transparency and oversight in the massive over- the-counter derivatives market, and the necessary tools to prevent large risk-taking in the financial system. these reforms are transforming the way wall street operates. as we know, damage to individuals and firms began with deceptive and harmful practices

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that left millions of americans owing more than they could ever repay. dodd frank created the consumer toancial protection bureau prevent unfair and deceptive practices. since opening its doors, it has already taken bold and decisive action. it moved quickly to strengthen consumer protections in the mortgage market, bringing payday lenders under federal supervision for the first time, and providing extra help to those like military families who were targeted by unscrupulous lenders. the new wordage standards help protect against risky loan features -- mortgage standards that help protect against risky loan features will go into effect in a few weeks. new forms have replaced complicated overlapping documents and disclosure requirements with easy to understand forms that make home buying simpler and more understandable for all americans. five years ago, most americans did not even know what the

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enormous over-the-counter derivatives market was, but its lack of transparency and lack of oursight put all of them, economy and our financial system at risk. created requirements for this previously unregulated market. the securities and exchange commission has been working hard to implement these rules of the road. year, requirements for trading platforms and trade reporting when into effect, reducing risks from derivatives by creating transparency and moving toward more standardized action. in september, g 20 leaders agreed to a new proposal that establishes mobile market standards. now regulators both here and abroad will make sure that consistent safeguards across borders protect the financial system from external shocks. part of ensuring that financial institutions bear their own

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risks is making sure they have enough capital in place. largestquiring the firms to decrease leverage were proposed this year and were soon be -- will soon be finalized. under dodd frank, regulators conduct annual stress tests to determine if banks have sufficient capital to withstand severely adverse economic conditions. everything -- for banks that do not pass the test, change is required, including raising capital or suspending dividends. the federal reserve will finalize new standard soon to go beyond m a quiddity to impose tougher risk management liquidity tobeyond impose tougher risk management standards. there is measurable progress. the larger banks are now better capitalized and less leveraged, adding four hundred $50 billion

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in capital since the first quarter of 2009. on top of that, dodd frank restricts the type of high risk activities banks can take. rule writers will soon put forward a tough volcker rule that i expect to be true to president obama's vision and the statutes and 10. the rule now before regulators for -- intent. the rule now before regulators is the result of years of effort. it limits risky proprietary trading while protect inessential economic activities like market making such as selling bonds for mutual funds. it prohibits risky trading that's like the london whale and puts in place strong compliance to make sure that the tone at the top sends the right signal to the whole firm. now, in order to make sure that

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taxpayers are truly protected, it is critical to have an effective resolution process so that individual family firms do not jeopardize the entire system or taxpayers at risk. dodd frank prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars to bail out any taxpaying -- any financial firm. financial crisis, a canon will use the tools the law provides. -- it can and will use the tool the law provides. regulators will require firms to rework their plans if they are not credible. if firms are not able to provide a credible plan, regulators will propose remedies including requiring firms to realign their businesses. also, regulators have already howed rules that make clear the federal deposit insurance program can take over a failing

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institution. there are continuing strategies for maintaining financial institutions without disruption to the financial system. there is still work to do to make sure international rules work with our own. as we know too well, financial crises do not respect national borders. we will not know how well these rules work for certain until they are tested by a true crisis, but several things are clear. dodd frank ended too big to fail as a matter of law. through stress tests is underway. resolution authority and plans are in place. there is a growing recognition of these changes, and market analysts are now factoring them into their assumptions. put simply, the reforms being require firms to internalize their risks, and make clear that shareholders, and executives, not

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taxpayers, will be responsible if large institutions fail. earlier this year i said that if we could not with a straight face say that we ended too big to fail, we would have to look at test area but to be clear, there is no precise point at which you can prove with certainty that we have done enough. if we need to take further action, we will not hesitate. an essential part to that test is making sure regulars police markets and financial institutions effectively. even with the best rules, illegal behavior will go unchecked unless regulators can investigations, monitor suspect behavior and go after those who break the law. it is not an either or proposition. the best rules will fall short without effective supervision.

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effective enforcement is only possible with sufficient resources. efforts tong in block or rollback reforms, some in congress would starve regulatory agencies of funding so they lack the resources to do their job. failing to fund supervision of the new rules of bounds to virtual deregulation puts americans at risk that financial threats will go unchecked. even in tight the cherry times, it is not a budget-driven choice and we must provide regulators with sufficient resources to make the regulatory system work and protect working families from financial harm. how could any of us say to someone who lost their job, home , or retirement security because of lax oversight that a safe financial system is a luxury we cannot afford? we saw what that rot in 2008 and it cost americans trillions of dollars in untold human misery. let that happen again. the work these agencies do is money well spent.

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for example, and 2013 alone, the cftc imposed billions of dollars in sanctions, including 1.3 billion dollars for abusive actions related to manipulation of libor and other financial benchmarks. these sanctions made our system safer and provided incentives for firms to engage in behavior that undermines the integrity and the american stake in the financial system. in the near-term, it is essential that congress provide adequate funding for regulators, but if annual funding doesn't meet the goal, congress should move the budget out of the current budget process as the president proposed and treat them like our baking agencies which are self-funded through agency fees. oft way, instead unpredictable funding that shifts from year-to-year, oversight of the markets and institutions would be guaranteed. political winds may shift, but the government's ability to protect markets and make sure they are safe must be constant. there are also ongoing efforts financialhe consumer

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protection bureau of its independence and undermine its ability to protect consumers. in only two years, the cfp be has proven itself an effective enforcer, pushing back on tactics that are abusive. they have taken actions that have resulted in companies refunding hundreds of millions of dollars to consumers and we must make sure this new agency is able to continue its vital work. you can understand why some would want to rein in this agency. it is harder to profit from unfair and abusive practices and it needs to stay that way. and support our regulatory agencies, we need to hold them accountable. sets highfrank act expectations for regulators and gives them the tools they need to protect ordinary americans and the broader financial system. there has been and will be to date on what is the right level for capital come a liquidity,

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the size of banks and the structure of markets. in a few moments, i will discuss areas regulate it need to keep their eyes on. including the tri-party repurchase agreement market. one thing is clear. the regulators congress charged with these duties continue to use the tools at their disposal to abuse the system and regulators can then should do more. regulators must understand risk exposures, demand strong effective and promote risk management systems. when regulators see failure as an internal control like the failures that occurred involving the london wayland mf global, it is critical they hold those responsible to account. regulars must be held to the highest standard. the stakes are high and the standard for performance need to be justified. the u.s. responded to the financial crisis aggressively and on a bipartisan basis to make our domestic system safer

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and more secure. given the global nature of our financial system, we must continue working with regulators to forge compatible rules so that reforms in other jurisdictions are as strong as our own. from the outset of the crisis, the time and energy we put into regulatory reforms have been paired with efforts to promote high-quality standards, build a level playing field, and reduce risk. we have made considerable progress through the g 20 in designing a morse table and resilient system, but the design is not sufficient. implementation and follow- through are key and we must avoid a race to the bottom. meet withary, i will the g 20 finance ministers and i will use this as an opportunity to colin world's biggest economies to bear down more forcefully on implementation. willgenda is this -- we take steps to make sure global banks meet the high standards we have set.

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that means moving swiftly to move strong and high-quality capital, curb leverage, and build strong buffers to protect themselves in times of crisis. the gl years ago, the -- 20 recommended reporting of over-the-counter derivatives be in place by now. the united states has forged ahead getting that done. we need to make sure these recommendations are put in place around the globe area there'll be different -- difficult cross- border issues to manage. other nations are moving far more slowly than the united states. major financial institutions work globally and for resolutions to work fully, cross-border resolutions must be part of it. the failure of lehman brothers demonstrated the absence of cooperation between domestic and foreign authorities to resolve a financial company can in danger the global system and underscore that new resolution tools will need to work across borders. our agenda in the coming year

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on international arrangements that establish how home and host authorities will cooperate to wind down a globally of firm. the failure to work out such an arrangement could pose a significant risk to our financial system. treasury is emphasizing this as a priority and we are working with regulatory partners and counterparts to make this in place. the u.s. is working with colleagues internationally to reform financial edge marks like libor and make sure alternatives are developed and in place. as we have seen with libor and circumstances around foreign exchange rates, we must guard against the potential for market manipulation both mystically and internationally. withll prioritize our work international partners with ways to address the risk from short sale funding markets and shadow banking, complement and shadow banking, complement the our domestic efforts. in short, we are leaders in the

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effort to develop and enhance measures for all types of its douche and then working to align these approaches with a strong framework. our aim is clear. we want a global race to the top. standard free trade agreement represents real opportunities to strike growth and create jobs. we cannot allow these agreements to water down the mistake regulatory standards. let me be clear. we will press other jurisdictions to match our standards, including in europe and across asia. and we will do so by continuing to pursue our agenda in the bilateral and multilateral forums we have been and will continue to be at the forefront of advancing global financial reforms such as the fsp ng 20. this will help prevent gaps in oversight and protect taxpayers from financial risk. implementing the dodd frank act and internationally agreed-upon standards and encouraging global

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alignment with our reforms are all necessary steps toward a safer and sounder financial system. but as we take the steps, it is essential to remember the crisis revealed regulation and oversight failed to keep up with a rapidly evolving financial system. the fact is we must remain vigilant as emerging threats appear on the horizon. dodd frank created two new organizations to help combat potential new risks. the financial stability oversight council and the office of financial research. the council brings the regulatory community together and charges us to look across areas of responsibility whether it is banks, markets or other financially institutions and other risks that may emerge in the future. the office of financial research is working to understand what they do we need to better track risks in the system and what we can learn from that data. efforts to create standard so we can anticipate the next crisis that is accessible and usable.

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part of the current focus of these new organizations as nonbank financial companies and shadow banking and two ships. in many ways, these firms act like banks but without the comprehensive oversight or safeguards banks are subject to. it is essentially better understand and address the risks these firms represent. the tri-party repurchase agreement market is a critical source of short-term funding, but one with identified structural vulnerabilities. particularly the reliance of intraday credits. the federal reserve has taken steps to improve risk management processes from management and lenders. while the money market fund nots a big role, it is without risk. as we saw in the financial crisis, some funds were susceptible to runs and new protections were needed to read the council made recommendations for national forms made by the sec in 2010. the sec has proposed additional

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reforms and is working to finalize them. having strong new protections with the industry goes hand-in- hand with the broader work we are doing to safeguard the financial system. we will continue to work closely with the sec advocating for strong reforms to this product. the council and office of financial research are towing their charge to look across the system and evaluate risks that may propose the a threat. at the council's request, the are both four-day study of the asset management industry to inform the understanding of risks in the sector. this report provides important analysis and begins to look at whether yes that management industry and its activities present risk to the broader financial system. we cannot forget the importance of reforming the housing finance system to enhance financial stability and it is important we work with congress on a bipartisan basis to get this done. as the council noted in its most recent annual report,

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significant reform is still needed to add 30 to the market and attract more private capital. going forward, we cannot be afraid to ask tough questions with an open mind and without preconceived judgment. informed by data and analysis, we should act as necessary to promote stability across the financial system. we knew from the start reforming our financial system could not happen overnight. or have if we were building our regulatory regime from scratch or if our financial system are less complex thomas it may have happened faster. our financial system is an elaborate engine that fuels economic growth and provides credit for homes, cars, and education. findlps small business inventory and meet payroll and helps employers hedge risks so that such changes don't mean layoffs or shutdowns. tough choices and significant progress toward reforming our financial system. every day, more change comes not

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just on paper but in the way exchanges and clearing houses do their business. as we move forward and as new higher standards are phased-in, the changes will be even more apparent. our financial system will be even more secure. because our financial system is always evolving, this is work that i its basic nature is never finished and it is our ongoing duty to remain responsive to a dynamic and changing financial system. thank you very much. [applause] >> earlier today on capitol hill, the house approved a bill that would impose new rules governing patent infringement lawsuits. the house returns on monday for until they scheduled leave for their christmas research -- christmas recess. likely had is some work on the

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2014 to june agreement. speaker boehner talked about that in today's budget agreement. >> i am hopeful paul ryan and patty murray will come to a that can passnt both the house and senate. paul ryan came in today and gave us an update of where they were. i am hopeful they will be able to work this out but there is clearly no agreement. on the farm bill, i have not seen any real progress. we have to pass a one- month extension of the farm bill, i think we will be prepared to do that. think all of it would be extended for a month. i have made it clear that the house is going to leave next friday. you all know me pretty well. i mean what i say and i say what i mean. >> numbers level back in monday

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at noon eastern for general speeches. 2 p.m. eastern for legislative work. watch the house line is always here on c-span. on c-span, "washington journal" looks at the mission and role of the national institutes of health. startek live at seven: 30 eastern with director francis collins on their medical research priorities, future projects, and the impact of sequestration. at 8:00, allergy and infectious diseases director anthony foutch green,lowed by eric director of the national human genome research institute. at 9:00, the national cancer institute director and at 9:30, a look at the national institute thomas inhealth with so. all with your calls and comments, live on c-span. >> from age eight, eddie ford knew that she wanted to do

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something with dance. she put on skits and plays and vermont,to bennington, where she studied at the school of dance. these are some of her no cards -- her spiral notebooks where she kept notes. this is her organizer. she carried this with her to vermont, back to grand rapids, off to new york where she studied with martha graham and work for the powers modeling agency. then back to grand rapids again. so in it, you will find a whole host of things you would find in just about organizer -- just about any organizer. there are brochures on dance costumes, one of first catches for one of the dance routines she wanted to put on, choreography notes that she made four different dance routines.

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there is a whole wealth of material here that talks about her love for dance and how deeply she was involved in it, especially in her early years. >> watch our program on first .ady eddie ford on our website or see it saturday on c-span at 7:00 eastern. our series continues live monday as we look at first lady rosalynn carter. >> in the survey of major newspapers made in teen 09, the kansas city star was rated more in favor of reform than all the other major metropolitan newspapers in the united states himself area as nelson told an interviewer in 1910, -- i don't want the stars editorial to be a lot of literary essays. i want to get things done. up hisfollowed strictures on past performance rejectedditorial that

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the notion roosevelt was a man on horse back and seized power and become addict ater. he is a elder recalled to his work said the paper, rather than a man on worse back. after roosevelt's arrival from africa, mid-talk about his candidacy, there are clubs formed like napoleon in the spring of 1910. >> the impact of william rockhill nelson on the aggressive movement and teddy roosevelt's campaign to win back the white house sunday on american history tv. >> unemployment insurance benefits are set to expire on december 28. earlier today, democratic steering and policy committee held a hearing on what that will mean for close to 1.3 million people. this is an hour and a half.

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>> good morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. >> good morning, everyone. thank you very much for joining us for this hearing of a most serious matter striking right into the heart of the security of america's working families. in interest in our getting to our witnesses, as soon as possible, i will save my for the remarks until later. but i yield to the distinguished ranking member of the ways and means committee who has been a champion on the issue of fairness for america's workers today. today, our focus is on unemployment insurance. the distinguished gentlemen from michigan, representative sandy levin. >> thank you, leader, thank you in humanoming here it

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and economic terms, this congress has a mandate to extend federal unemployment insurance. we will in a few minutes see the human side from the three americans who are joining us to tell their personal stories. sensek they will be in a or a personal. they represent more than one million other americans with similar stories who will lose every dime, every dime of this 28port instantly on december if this congress fails to act area a further 3.6 million americans would lose access to federal unemployment insurance next year as they exhaust their state coverage. believe that if

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every member of congress would take even a few minutes to speak personally with unemployed would not be any question at all about the need to extend the federal ui program. more than anything else, they want a job. finding work remains very difficult in an economy that still has one point 5 million fewer jobs than before the recession started six years ago. closee never had anything to such a sustained job deficit after any recent downturn. said in opposition to an extension that the federal emergency unemployment compensation program was adopted for extraordinary circumstances that are disappearing. no.

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no. these extraordinary circumstances continue, as indicated in the report issued just this morning by president obama's council of economic advisers. it highlights that the current long-term unemployment rate is at least twice as high as it was at the expiration of every previous extended ui benefit program. the extraordinary circumstances continue. the report also sets out the economic impact of a failure to act. and otherwith cbo economists. allowing the federal ui program to expire will cost our economy at least 200,000 jobs next year because of reduced consumer demand.

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ignore thengress to national economic impact would be shortsighted. to ignore the human, the individual human impact would be coldhearted. that is not the better nation -- the better nature of our nation. congress. this thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. wish this hearing were not necessary, that we were with what representative levin presented to us, but i am grateful to the cochairs of the steering and policy committee for bringing us together to hear from our very special guest.

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robll yield to chairman andrews in just a moment but first i want to acknowledge we have been joined by congresswoman barbara lee of davidrnia, congressman sizzling of rhode island, congressman hank johnson of georgia, and congresswoman jackowski of illinois, our distinguished democratic whip of steny hoyer, our ranking member on the small business committee. will formally introduce our witnesses, but i thank all of them for honoring us with their presence. we look forward to hearing your testimony. >> thank you. a member of the house republican is noship said "there appetite for extending unemployment benefits in the republican conference. today, we are not your to hear

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about appetite, but about hunger and about the hunger people across this country come a 1.3 million of them have for the dignity and the literal hunger these families will suffer on the 28th of december if benefits hunger extended, and the we should have as an economy for putting people back to work. the statements we will hear this morning will be more than ellen did. we look forward to getting back to work to extending unemployment benefits. >> thank you, madam leader. i want to welcome our guests here as well. it has been five years since the financial crisis precipitated a great recession. it destroyed millions of householdjobs and wealth. we have many families struggling to get back on their feet. unemployment at 7.2%. one out of every six americans among us live in poverty and one in six is battling hunger.

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to be doingds everything we can to create jobs, grow the economy and help those who are struggling. moral responsibility we have and over the past few years, we've seen a majority do nothing to address this issue. the fact of the matter is if we do not extend ui before the end of the year, 1.3 million will men and women will lose their benefits right away. another 1.9 will lose their benefits by july 1, 2014. this is bad news for families who are already struggling. failing to extend the benefits ripples throughout the economy and will cause about 310,000 jobs next year. a hearing fived years ago on the financial crisis. about discussing how we stimulate the economy. one of the witnesses was mark zandi, economist and advisor to the john mccain campaign grade

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we asked him what was the fastest way to increase the demand and get our economy moving again. he talked about three things. expand access, provide refundable tax cut its, and extend unemployment benefits. at was the way to get us back on track. today, we will hear from a panel who will explain unemployment insurance and families and the american economy and why it's imperative for this congress to move and act before the year ends. thank you, madam leader. >> we are going to go to introduction of the witnesses. wasgoing to start with ms. come into has been executive director of the law project since january 2, 2008. she has worked at the afl-cio, she is focused on minimum wage,

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living wage, pay equity for women. many issues we are pursuing around this country through our membership. of the to introduce each witnesses first or do we want to have them testify one at a time? >> we would ask you to make your statement brief so we can get to all the witnesses. >> we really appreciate the committee holding this important hearing today on what is an urgent matter for millions of americans. who will lose their unemployment benefits over the holidays. more than 3 million by the first of july if congress fails to act to remove the emergency unemployment program. a written statement is in the record and i will keep my statements brief. i want to emphasize that although the economy has improved, it is far from a healthy economy that provides job opportunities for all who need and want to work, particularly the long-term

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unemployed. unemployment remains higher than it was before the recession and it has kicked down a little bit since the last time the program was renewed but in reality, that's because of labor force dropouts as opposed to a real decline in unemployment. if we included all the missing workers in our unemployment count, unemployment today would be 11%. economynot the kind of in which people struggling with long-term unemployment can find jobs. threeare still officially unemployed workers for every single job opening which means each month to out of three unemployed workers is completely out of luck when it comes to finding a job. talk about theto demographics of the long-term unemployed because this is important. it demographics are part in -- are part of who lost jobs first and who suffered the most. while unemployment has cut across every demographic rubin

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our economy, workers most effective -- most effected by long-term unemployment have an ,lder workers, workers of color and workers with less education. that's not particularly are theng because these workers who even in a robust economy have the most difficulty getting jobs in the first place for a variety of reasons, including discrimination. of long-term unemployment is affecting these workers ability to get new jobs. i know many of you are cosponsors on legislation that would prohibit discrimination against the long-term unemployed, which is a measure we would encourage you to take up as soon as we can. but the focus is on extending benefits. againy, i want to stress the importance of renewing the program, not just because of the workers who will be affected, but for the economy overall, for

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the labor market overall and for our society overall. insuranceemployment is one of the most effective economic stimuli that we have. cbo scored this just the other day and said if the program is renewed, it could account for as much as .3% in gdp growth and an additional 300,000 jobs. if it is not renewed, it will have the opposite effect. that is very damaging to our economy. estimates are every dollar paysted in unemployment back to dollars in added growth of gdp. second, we know unemployment insurance is an effective anti- poverty tool and we care about that in this country. the census bureau reported in 2012 unemployment insurance alone cap 1.7 million americans

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out of poverty including close to half a million children. it is scandalous that in the richest nation in the world one in six americans is living in poverty and at least this congress doesn't exacerbate the problem by cutting off the vital income millions of americans rely upon. finally, i want to put to rest the canard that long-term unemployment insurance keeps people unemployed. number one, that reflects that people who say that do not understand how on employment is officially counted. one is only counted as unemployed if one is looking for work. the long-term program requires people to look for work, so in fact, it has the opposite effect. it keeps people in the labor market and causes them to be more aggressive in their job

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search and gives them the stayrces they need to afloat while they are looking for jobs. if we want to reduce unemployment, sure, cut out this program, but we will reduce unemployment by having more people completely drop out of the labor force and that is not the recipe for a prosperous economy that works for all of us. thank you very much. >> thank you. one of our guiding principles is when women succeed, america succeeds. one of those success stories is lisa floyd, a sales and service professional from huntington, west virginia. she spent the last 14 years working for volunteer services at a hospice. very hard work indeed, making sure the sick and elderly were able to die in peace and dignity. she is a success story. she exhausted her state benefits without finding a job, but the

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extended benefits we supported and believe should be supported again helped her keep her head above water long enough to find a new job without losing her home or becoming destitute. lisa, you are not invisible. you are important and we are glad you are here. >> good morning, representatives. thank you for having me here to share my story. my name is lisa floyd. for nearly 14 years, i've worked as director of volunteer services for an area nonprofit hospice that serves both west virginia and ohio. i have worked my entire adult life having had three jobs my whole career. i had never been unemployed until now. job, i as i lost my

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immediately began my furious search for employment and began navigating the world of online boards, job boards and diligently networking. my goal was to place my resume in the hands of everyone i knew. the majority of my waking hours looking for work. time, i was able to support myself because i received vital unemployment insurance benefits. i not only was looking for jobs in my field, or only for jobs at the same salary level. i am smart enough to know most likely i would be changing careers and taking a pay cut. i applied for everything and anything.

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applying for began entry-level call-center jobs. that would have resulted in a $30,000 a year pay cut. to put this another way, a 42% reduction in my pay. that was monday of this week. floor by myon the desk, i have a stack of job application receipts, job descriptions, research come a and various forms of my resume and cover letters. the stack is two feet tall. and i know because i measured it. my online network connections have literally gone viral. my regular state unemployment

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benefits ended in early november i immediately began receiving federal emergency unemployment compensation. would not have been able to pay my mortgage and i would have been at risk of losing my beloved little house. i was raised by my mother, a single parent. we never owned a home, but we lived in apartments. so i am especially proud of my home and i know my deceased mother would have been proud to know she raised me right. i am somebody. i own a home. of my jobght months search, i am happy to say i have secured a job just three days

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ago. [applause] was monday. although my new job pays much, much less than what i was making, it's a job with a livable wage, and for that, i am very grateful. without unemployment insurance and the federal emergency benefits, i would not have been able to sustain myself in my job search. so, for me, these programs have done what they are supposed to do. they kept me in my home. i can still buy groceries and pay my bills. anxiety was kept to a

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manageable level. was able to keep sending out applications and going on interviews. it had not been fortunate in finding this job, i would have a cutoff ofar and federal emergency unemployment compensation benefits absent congressional action. for millions and that would be devastating. for me, it could have meant the loss of my beloved home. i am so relieved and grateful that i will not have to face that now. but i know millions of others are at the same risk i was just two days ago. monday, i am here on their behalf.

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renewng with congress to the federal or emergency compensation program for 2014 and please, give the other 1.3 million americans a fighting chance to become reemployed. i am an emergency unemployment compensation success story. please allow this to be america's story? thank you. >> lisa, your mother is routed and you are somebody. and you reverse that view of people who are unemployed. we are all defined by the jobs

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we do. we take pride in what we do. why we are with you today to tell you we are going to do everything in our power to make sure these benefits get extended. thank you for your courage and thank you for your courage in being here. vera is a longtime biotech professional. she's going to talk about how failure to extend unemployment insurance benefits would impact her directly. she has been searching for work for the last seven months. thank you for being here and sharing your story this morning. me.hank you for inviting thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of millions of unemployed americans across the thetry who like me face

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shutdown. if this congress fails to renew , my name is vera and i live in massachusetts. i have earned a bachelors degree in microbiology and a masters degree in immunology and i have worked for over 20 years in the biotech pharmaceutical industry in various positions. functions both in academia and the industry. most recently, i invested four years in a company that is developing a vital diagnostic tool for cancer. i was laid off and they 2013 due to a lack of funding that was complicated by the sequester earlier in the year. engaged in job

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searching, spending at least eight hours a day in front of the computer networking, searching job boards, being groups, in professional i have posted over 50 you resumes on job searches to come to knees. i am applying to jobs at all levels. including entry-level. i am actively engaged in networking groups that consist of professionals throughout the massachusetts area. i have attended the job-search workshops and pursued job postings. month on my job search begins, i continue looking for employment in the pharmaceutical industry and i also applied for seasonal jobs for part time jobs within service and retail industry. is a self-employed

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business consultant in i.t. because his business is failing due to the economic sequester. we have very little income coming in. in fact, it is just my state unemployment. that will end at the end of this week. i am going to be one of the one point 3 million americans on the eu see in 2013. thosee the fact that benefits and at the end of this stress inuly creating me. i have sleepless nights, i wake up with fears and tears. and i just don't know what i'm going to do. assistance, health food assistance, heating assistance, just like my friend lisa did. fear is keeping me from

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moving forward and pursuing these activities and pursuing my job search. today, i think i am getting a new spark. the lack of funding coming up will exasperate m current condition because i'm making the choice of having teed less quality food that contain ingredients i cannot eat. therefore my health will suffer even more than what it does. i don't even know what i'm going to do for medication. to renew thengress benefits for 2013. it's the least this congress can do. it must do this for america. these invest in america. that is where you will get results for the economy to grow. thank you very much. [applause]

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>> every member of congress should hear and heed what lisa and vera have said. we are here to try to amplify your strong and wise voices. we thank you. stan is an electrician, a journeyman wireman. on july 3 of this year, a project on which he had work for an extended -- an extended. finished. since then, he's been looking for work. he gets up at 4:00 every day even though he's not working. what he spends most of his time doing is trying to find work, especially with construction season in the cold weather coming up, his state benefits in in earlywill expire january. when they expire, if we do not extend the federal benefits, he will be without income looking for his next job great we hope next time you get up that 4:00 a.m. it's because you are working. but we want to hear what you have to say today.

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>> thank you for letting me speak today. i'm from baltimore, maryland. anda journeyman electrician i have been since 1970 five. at the electrical work since i was a teenager. i am 67 years young and i am capable, and fully able to work. i need to work, i love to work, it is who i am. but i hate eating unemployed. it is a waste of my time, my abilities, and during the recent recession and the early part of recovery, i was fortunate to have continuous work for three years on a job. work in my industry can be sporadic. i put away money and i have saved. but my five month job ended earlier this year on july 3. the unemployment insurance, which is my only income, and i have used my savings that i have the way.

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week of my20th regular state unemployment benefits that will and in january. unemployment benefits have helped me scrape bye week to week and even with them, i'm not .ble to pay my expenses i'm trying to find a job but it's a very difficult thing. construction work is a hard find in the winter and outside of my industry, from what i have seen, potential employers see my agent look right past me. for or 4:30up that every morning, saturdays and sundays. my pursuing work through union and elsewhere. things should pick up this ring and i'm looking for things to pick up because i hate not working. so here i am facing the end of my unemployment benefits in january. if this congress does not act to reduce the federal compensation

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program, there will be no federal benefits available for me and people like me. if that happened that i'm still unemployed, i won't even be able to play debate -- to pay the basics. if congress lets the program shut down, i will not be able to pick yes in my car to even look for a job. to helphow that's going me and help others like me get back to work. don't allow them to shut this down. thank you. [applause] >> the 1.3 million people demonstrated by the three witnesses that have just spoken are not just a statistic. they live, they breathe, they have families and it is our obligation in congress to make sure they have the opportunities to live their lives. father snyder, it's wonderful to have you here today.

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you have been the president of catholic charity and you oversee local catholic charity agencies nationwide and help 10 million americans a year struggling in poverty regardless of their religious, social or economic grounds. he's the author of "think and act anew. help robert d in america affect the solid what we can do about it. we are counting on you to make sure we all keep our moral responsibility front and center in our policy discussions. youran help to make -- not justcritical for those here this morning but for all members of congress to hear. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. pelosi, representative andrews and other members of the house here today, let me say good morning and a sincere thank

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you for holding this important hearing that will focus on the issue of extending the emergency unemployment compensation benefits. i'm grateful to have the opportunity to make a few remarks. ofo to bring the perspective nonprofits to provide help to americans in need each and every day. as representative delauro said, catholic charities serves about 10 million people every year, about one in four persons living in poverty. that is why this is such an important issue for us. we do not want to see those numbers increase. days, millions across the country will gather to celebrate christmas and the only days after marking the holiday with family and loved ones, more than a million americans may lose this vital -- this vital benefit if it is not renewed and their ability to provide for their families may be in jeopardy. unemployment insurance benefits

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are a vital life link for unemployed workers and their families. it can make the difference between continuing to have housing and having enough to eat. affect children and some veterans. it serves as a bridge when a temporary job losses experienced. it, individuals can easily slip into poverty. nss is a wiser investment of dollars until our economy is robust enough to create sufficient employment opportunities for those who spend so much time looking for work. behind the statistics of millions of jobless workers are men and women as we have heard this morning who worked their whole lives and to take pride in being a contributing member of their community. neighbors, our extended family members. thathere be no mistake people who receive this benefit are people who have worked every

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day and want to work. the dignityd need of work to allow them to provide for themselves and their families. unemployment is not the life these individuals seek, nor is it the one they want. movingnt to continue toward the american dream and it is incumbent upon all of us to do everything we can to ensure a robust economy and good paying jobs are the long-term solutions. at catholic charities, we see firsthand what choices unemployed americans face as they look for work, leaving them and their families vulnerable as they continue job search. unemployment extends beyond individuals and families to communities and neighborhoods as well. high unemployment and poverty go hand-in-hand. the characteristics of poor neighborhoods amplify the impact of on employment. an investment to

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keep our communities healthy. when the workforce and economy take a hit as we have seen these last several years, social service agencies are often the first to feel impact. days of thiswithin fall's government shutdown, catholic charities were reporting the increased need in their community as a result of changed employment situation of federal workers. while catholic charities remains committed to helping families get back on their feet as they search for work, we can only be part of the solution. it is understandable this benefit should not be extended permanently, but as a nation, we should not pull the rug out from under the americans who continue to look for work in this economy that is ever so slow to recover. we can understand having limits but we have to take into account the reality of the current set act in their economy.

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our catholic tradition teaches us that society, acting through the government, has a special obligation to consider first the needs of the poor and vulnerable. pope francis has called on us numerous times in to recognize the needs of our neighbors to make responding to those folks a priority. he said in his recent exultation this. it is vital that government leaders and financial leaders theireed and broaden horizons, working to ensure all citizens have dignified work, education, and health care. i am firmly convinced openness to the transcendent can bring about a new political and economic mindset which would help to write down the wall of separation between the economy and the common good of society. i urge congress to do the same. the challenge here today is for congress to work together and

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support a bipartisan effort to ensure our neighbors do not go without by extending this benefit in this time of great need for so many. thank you. [applause] leader? >> i want to thank our leaders again as a tribute to all of you. i'm so pleased so many numbers have come and some had to go back to their committee work. since i knowledge to is here earlier, we have been joined by our congressman from rico, keith lida loweyminnesota, of new york. california, from terri sewell from alabama. carolyn maloney of new york. is glenn still with us? chris van hollen of maryland.

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the list goes on and on. while we are talking about a major statistic, 1.3 million people by the end of the month, every single one of those stories, there are a million stories that are important to us. you are the personification of that. you're the personification of the great work ethic of america. that is what we want to see upheld with this. just want to thank you for being here. we talk in washington about big numbers. millions of people. infrequently, we talk about individuals. our actions affect them

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immediately and directly on a daily basis. thank you for being here. it takes courage to come here -- as rosa has said or perhaps rob andrews, when we see one another, the first thing we say is what we need -- we say what is your name. what is the next question we ask question mark what do you do? what do you do to occupy your time from 4:00 a.m. that makes you feel worthwhile? not only is it extraordinary economic damage we are inflicting, but psychological. you talked about that as well and stan obviously evidenced that. we appreciate the fact that you are here to ring home the personal individual impact our

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lack of action has. are scheduled to leave here on the 13th of december. friday the 13th of december. i'm hopeful we will not vote to adjourn the congress of the united states for the year of 2013 without taking care of this issue to ensure the lease is, there is, and stands of our country, our daughters and sons, our fathers and mothers know that we care and that there is that floor, that hand that reaches out. that is what jesus told us to do, to reach out and help and yourully we will do that. testimony will make a

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difference. thank you very much. i would like to thank mr. lawyer and our colleagues for being here. do now ise going to turn to questions. in order to accommodate all the members here, we will try to take three questions at a time and members will be called on in order of appearance. i'm going to ask my colleagues to make i will ask my colleagues to make the questions very short and very poignant and we will get the answers that we want, because we anticipate there will be sure to want to get. with that, i will ask for questions from congresswoman ,elazquez, congresswoman lee and congressman johnson. did congresswoman lee leave? >> she left.